|
 White Plains, NY - Text messaging while driving may be coming to a stop as two County Board committees send a proposal to stamp out the practice in Westchester.
At their joint meeting Monday, the Legislation and Pubic Safety & Security Committees signed out a proposed local law that would ban the use of wireless handsets to compose, read or send text messages while operating a motor vehicle. A public hearing on the proposed law is expected to be set for September 8th at 10:00 AM.
“The problem here is distracted driving,” said County Legislator Bill Burton (D, IN – Ossining), Legislation Committee Chair. “It’s important to note that the ban on text messaging while driving will benefit the younger, more inexperienced drivers who are so accustomed to using text messages to communicate with their friends that they lose focus on the road.”
Burton added that one of the primary components of the law’s enforcement, if passed, would be an education campaign. Members of the Spano Administration, including Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Belfiore, agreed that there would be outreach attempts to municipalities and high schools to inform teen drivers and parents of the new policy.
“We have an obligation to legislate this issue,” said County Legislator Vito Pinto (D, IN, WF -Tuckahoe), Public Safety & Security Chair. “We feel it’s a benefit to our constituents to address what’s become a real public safety concern. Plus, it behooves us to take action on a county-wide level, so municipalities don’t have to.”
If the text message ban is passed by the county, explained Burton, it would be enforceable at the municipal level by local police departments and would not apply to GPS or hands-free devices.
Lawmakers and officials liken the proposed text-messaging measure to the 2001 cell phone ban while driving law, a measure first taken up by Westchester and later adopted by the state.
“This is just a natural progression in public safety regulations, and we’re looking forward to what the public has to say at the public hearing,” added Pinto.
 |
